If I'm not mistaken, Thompson is the first dead redskirt, and the first dead yeoman since
The Cage.
I guess espers aren't allowed on starships anymore? Somebody going all Mitchell on Kelvans would have sure come in handy this time, they could have whooped their Cthulhu-like asses all the way to Andromeda.
The one moment I find very un-Kirk-like here is his confused bewilderment at the mere suggestion, then hesitation and ultimately refusal to blow up the ship at the barrier in order to prevent an invasion.
I didn't notice a direct reference to a third episode either. The meditation thing did remind me of
Shore Leave, and "I don't usually beat up women" reminded me of
Gamesters, but that's it.
It's a fun episode, there's some silly implications by it(only
one species that has conquered the entire Andromeda galaxy, one that's over twice the size of Milky Way?), and it's best not to dwell on how in the heck 400 people couldn't find a way to just tackle those 5 even with the paralyzing thingy(approach from multiple vectors people, multiple vectors!

) but in the end the ultimate solution and a good takeaway for all is that the best way to prevent a war and find common ground between different peoples is with lots of booze and sex... truly a lesson to live by!
